‘True Federalism’ and other fallacies by Simon Kolawole

Public debate in Nigeria, permit me to say, is not as educative as you would find in many civilised societies. The predominant elements here are ethnic and religious emotions, garnished with delicate lies and dangerous half-truths. The first casualties, as always, are facts and logic. There is the “herd instinct” which makes us believe, say and do things like the people in our corner. The groupthink syndrome has stifled common sense and meaningful interlocution. For the fear of “dragging”, nobody wants to express an unpopular opinion. If you try to apply reason, you may be shredded. As Professor Wale Adebanwi would say, “It is treasonable to be reasonable in an unreasonable society.” One topic of debate that has raged for ages, and will never stop dominating the airwaves, is the campaign for “true federalism” in Nigeria. I have done extensive research on federations across the world and I must admit that Nigeria is the only country where the term, “true federalism”, is in use. I stand to be corrected. While no two federations are exactly alike, I don’t know of any other country where people are campaigning for “true federalism”. Why? Because there is no such thing. “True federalism” is a complete fallacy, a made-in-Nigeria fantasy. You either run a federal system or not. There is no “true” or “false” federalism. Every federal system has its peculiarities and practices. The basic definition of federalism can be captured in one sentence: a political entity in which power is shared between the national and subnational governments. One thing is common to ALL federations: the centre controls defence, monetary policies and foreign relations. How the rest of the political and legislative powers are shared differs from one federation to the other. In Nigeria, the powers that belong to the federal and state governments are defined on three lists: exclusive (federal), concurrent (federal and states) and residual (states). I have not found any two federations where the items on each list are exactly the same. So, what really is this “true federalism”? In most federations, there are only two levels: the central and the subnational governments. In Nigeria, we have three tiers: the centre (federal), 36 states and 774 local government areas. The LGAs, though, are only third tier in name: they are part of the states. The three-tier system is somewhat peculiar to Nigeria. In the US, as with Germany, Ethiopia and most other federations, there are only two tiers: the national and the subnational. Councils and municipalities are under the states. That does not mean they are practising “false” federalism. In 1988, Brazil introduced a third tier called municipalities, which are independent of the states. The country has 5,570 of them. Federal vs Unitary Systems While the campaign for “true federalism” — as misleading as it sounds — has gained so much ground in Nigeria over the years, by far the bigger fallacy is that we can only develop if we practise this imagined system. It is a common argument among the protagonists that unless Nigeria practises “true federalism”, the country will remain stuck in underdevelopment. There is no evidence anywhere in the world to back this claim. No matter the indices we deploy, there is no proof that federalism develops or retards the development of any country. If we push this argument too far, we may end up discovering that centralisation of powers, as in the unitary system, works better. In a unitary system, power resides with the centre. It decides what to delegate or devolve to the administrative units. (This is markedly different from federalism where the states self-govern. In Nigeria, states are constitutionally empowered to legislate on several items: taxation, education, healthcare, environment, and rural development, among others.) You know what? The UN has 193 members and 165 of them run a unitary system. Do the math. That is an overwhelming 85 per cent! In case you are wondering which countries make up the 165, let me list just a few: China, France and the UK. You can google it. Did you notice that these three are Super Powers? You didn’t? I did. Let me take it a bit further. Using the UNDP Human Development Index — which measures the quality of life and standards of living in 189 countries — we could say the world’s most prosperous countries in 2019 (reported in 2020) run a unitary, not federal, system. In the Top 20, only seven practise federalism. In fact, in the Top 10, seven are unitary states and only three are federations. If we are to apply a mischievous logic, therefore, we can say that federalism makes countries poor and unitary system makes them prosperous. Of course, that would be absolutely false: federal or unitary system does not develop any country. It is good governance that has always done the trick. Fiscal Federalism vs Resource Control There is a campaign for “fiscal federalism” in Nigeria which is mistaken for “resource control”. The fiscal federalism theory was propounded in 1959 by Richard Musgrave, a German-American economist. He argued that the federal government should address the inequality in the distribution of wealth among the states in order to achieve economic stability in the entire federation. His key proposition is that the federal government should play the lead role of “redistributing” resources while the states should handle the “allocation” to specific sectors, such as education. This is to have a fiscally balanced federation so that no part is left behind for being poorer than the others. It is true that in most federations, states own the oil in their territories — but that is not the whole story. In Canada, oil provinces are in control of their resources. But because only very few provinces have oil (Alberta and Saskatchewan), the federal government has an “equalisation fund” from where other provinces get grants for fiscal balancing. Conversely, in Mexico, the federal government is in total charge of all the oil revenue. Mexican states, whether or not they have oil, receive a flat 20 per cent as allocation. Municipalities where oil-production and shipping take place receive an extra 3.17 per cent as compensation for the environmental challenges. Different strokes for different folks. Australia uses “horizontal fiscal equalisation” to support states with lower capacity to raise revenue. Belgium has the “national solidarity intervention” to beef up the finances of regions where the average per capita yield of personal income tax falls below the national average. In Germany, taxation is exclusively under the federal government, but the parliament passed a “state tax law” in 1920 to ensure that every state gets at least 80 per cent of the average tax revenue accruing to the 16 states. That means if the average tax revenue generated per state is $100 million, no state will get less than $80 million from the federal purse — even if the tax is not derived from its territory. Why federalism for Nigeria? I might have argued that unitary systems are the most common in the world and that they dominate the list of developed countries, but I am by no means suggesting that we should ditch federalism. Federalism is usually practised where there is ethnic and cultural diversity, and Nigeria absolutely qualifies on that count. I want us to continue along that path. Because of the self-governing feature, the states or regions can determine their priorities, policies, traditions and, in most countries, internal security. The wisdom is for the states to maintain independence from the centre — as long as this independence does not undermine the integrity and sovereignty of the federation. Established in 1789, the US federation is the world’s oldest. It is often cited as the perfect example of federalism by Nigerian campaigners. It would appear that when these campaigners say Nigeria needs to practise “true” federalism, they mean the US variant. But this position ignores an all-important fact: the history of state formation. The US is a consensual union: all the states voluntarily agreed to form a federation. All the terms and conditions were agreed upon before they signed the dotted lines. The Nigerian federation, on the other hand, was set up by the British colonial government and Nigerians only started negotiating the union terms thereafter. Big difference. To be clear, there is a point I would still like to make, lest I be misunderstood (I will still be misunderstood in any case, but I want this on record): I am not saying all is well with the Nigerian federation or that we do not need to tweak the constitution. That has never been, and will never be, my position. We, without any doubt, need to make critical changes to deliver development to the Nigerian people. The centre needs to devolve more responsibilities and revenue to the states because the states are closer to the people. But we can make all these arguments without whipping up ethnic sentiments, without lying to the children that there is something called “true federalism”. I will repeat myself yet again: all countries that have developed did so on the basis of competent and patriotic leadership — not “true federalism”, “fiscal federalism”, presidentialism, parliamentarianism, regionalism, balkanisation and such like. In Nigeria, we appear to have deliberately erected plenty ethnic, religious and regional barriers in the development discourse so that we do not address the real obstacles to our progress. If we succeed in balkanising Nigeria by playing up these sentiments, even the new nations that will come out of Nigeria will only develop if they have good governance. Trust me, there is no alternative to competent and patriotic leadership. Let me now summarise my takes on these fallacies. One, there is nothing like “true federalism” as being regularly canvassed in Nigeria; rather, there are variants of federalism and no two federations practise the system exactly the same way. Two, “fiscal federalism” means a fiscally balanced federation where no part is left behind for being poor; it does not mean “resource control” as being popularly canvassed here. Three, countries are not developed by federalism or unitary system — it is the quality of leadership that determines the height a country will attain. I hereby implore those who are willing to learn: read wider and stop being misled by the loudest voices in public discourse. AND FOUR OTHER THINGS… TAMING TWITTER As I was saying, Twitter and other social media apps have been hijacked to propagate fake news and hate speech, thereby putting societies at risk. They certainly need moderation and sanitisation — if civilisation is not to be eroded. But I insist: Nigeria is not going about it the right way. In a democracy, there are civil ways of doing things. While I won’t question the resolve of the federal government to address threats posed to national security by the misuse of social media, the way to go is get the tech giants to take responsibility for the sanitisation. There are bigger threats to the “corporate existence” of Nigeria, such as insurgency, banditry, kidnappings and arson. Priorities. NBC BULLIES When the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) threatened to sanction broadcast stations if they continued to tweet, it turned out to be a big opportunity in the struggle for media freedom in Nigeria. I would have loved members of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) to, in unison, defy the NBC cowards. Let NBC go wild and ban all the private stations. That would have been a great landmark in the history of media freedom in Nigeria. And I am damn sure any sanctions imposed by the power-drunk NBC cannot stand in a court because no law would have been broken. What an opportunity to assert press freedom and spit in the face of the NBC bullies. Missed. END SARS AND FDI Asked by ARISE TV to comment on declining inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria, President Buhari took a curious detour by linking it to the End SARS uprising and the ensuing burning and looting. This, he said, discourages investment. Something tells me the president was only looking for the slightest opportunity to fire back at the protesters, whom he accused of trying to bring down his government (#EndBuhari trended along with #EndSARS, and there was a street theory that the UN would remove a president if protests lasted for 30 days). Truth be told, though, the fall in FDI pre-dated the End SARS mayhem. But, well, Buhari fired the shot all the same. Noted. THE BUHARI PERSONA Recent TV appearances and pronouncements by President Buhari must have confounded a number of people, particularly those who say he is “Jibril Al Sudani” as well as those Facebook professors who theorise that he has dementia. They are living with the contradictions: in one breath, they’ve been criticising the “real” Buhari after the interviews and unwittingly admitting that he is not Jibril and does not have dementia; in another breath, they insist he is Jibril or that he has dementia. I would rather stick to one position and be damned than moving the goalpost based on the argument at hand. From the TV interviews, though, I can say this is the same Buhari of pre-2015. Indisputable.

BETWEEN OBASANJO, JONATHAN AND BUHARI Who are you calling dictator ? - By Festus Keyamo SAN

Ex- President Obasanjo removed Senate Presidents at will, removed any opposing voice, removed Fayose for a small insult, and removed Ladoja with thugs in Ibadan. Who are you calling “DICTATOR”? BUHARI. Ex-President Obasanjo withheld Lagos State fund for 3 years, not minding how Lagosians would eat, Yaradua got there and released the fund. NASS members were abusing President Buhari openly, messing up everything at will; Gov. Fayose has been abusing President Buhari for 4 years now. Not a single State in Nigeria has been denied their constitutional rights because of politics till date, all their funds, Paris fund and bail out, FAAC etc. But who is the DICTATOR? BUHARI. Ex-President Jonathan ensured that NASS opposition members were locked out including Tambuwa the Speaker of the house. They had to climb gate to gain access. Jonathan empowered OPCs in Lagos and they were destroying anything in Ikorodu to Ojota that looked like opposition party. Orga of DSS was used to invade APC secretariat, Journalist arrested and Newspapers siezed, we forgot all these…. Ekiti was militarised, Fayose was given power from Aso rock to order Military guys at will. Fayemi the incumbent at that moment was rendered powerless that he was shouting when Police commissioner was used by PDP and a guy was shot…All these videos and pictures are still here (google is your friend). But who is the dictator? BUHARI. Ex-President Jonathan met FX+ECA at $62 billion+. He DEPLETED it to less than $30 Billion in 5 years Jonathan sold crude oil for 5 years at an average of $100 per barrel of 2.2 million daily (2010-2014). Did he add a DIME to Nigeria purse in 5 years? NO. Buhari the ILLITERATE sold oil at an average of $50 of less than 700,000 barrel at some points because of militancy, yet had moved that FX to $47 Billion in 3 years. Don’t say how much did he borrow if you don’t even have the figure borrowed between 2010-2015 without adding a dime to FX. Who is the ILLITERATE? BUHARIIII. Jide Omokore, Aluko and oil goddess Alinson made an oil deal of N1 trillion and chose not to remit to Nigeria under GEJ. Did anyone raise eyebrow? INTEL of Ex-Vice President Atiku refused to remit to Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), not until last year that “ordinary” Hadiza the NPA boss challenged INTEL and insisted the funds must be remitted. A Christian Professor had been leading JAMB all through Obasanjo to Jonathan yet for 40 years of JAMB; only N52 Million was remitted to FG. A Muslim Professor who was appointed just in two years of handling JAMB remitted over N15 Billion. FIFTEEN BILLION. So who is following after righteousness? For five years of Okonjo Iweala was paying over 45,000 ghost workers unabated, yet just within 3 years, “ordinary” Kemi Adeosun removed such nonsense…I ask again who is more effective? Ordinary Abuja metro lane took 11 years from OBJ period that he INITIATED it…Ordinary intra-city metro lane o, but President Buhari that finished is within 3 years is the failure abi? “Which project did President Buhari INITIATE and COMPLETE in 3 years yen-yen-yen”. Mention any major project INITIATED AND COMPLETED in 3 years of Ex-President Obasanjo, or Ex-President Yar’Adua or Ex-President Jonathan? So on what parameters are you using to judge 3 years of President Buhari INITIATING AND COMPLETING? Even PDP can’t finish their own secretariat let alone that which belong to NIGERIA. Lagos-Ibadan road since Ex-President Obasanjo era till Ex-President Jonathan could not be finished. In 3 years of President Buhari, the road is receiving serious attention. Ask those who ply that road and those who go for Holy Ghost Congress monthly about the difference in pace of work. Wait, even Otuoke road in Bayelsa had to wait till President Buhari now starts to do the road. Who is the failure? Can it be BUHARIIII. What about “Almajiri School in the North? WHERE exactly are these Schools SITUATED in the North? OK, show us the picture. Emm, 2nd Niger Bridge? Lol, they completed it on the MAP, yet Fashola is on it PHYSICALLY now. Did Buhari fail on security issue in Benue? YES. Did others before him fail on the same security issue in Benue? YESSS. So where did you get all these noise of “Fulani President” is helping herdsmen? Who was the President during Jos crisis, herdsmen killing people in Zamfara in 2013, Odi massacre, Kaduna crisis? You think death suddenly started because President Buhari was a Fulani man? That he failed in that is one thing, but that YOU are making a narrative of “Fulani President” is giving herdsmen power is funny. January 1, 2018 in Omoku, Rivers State, Christians were coming from Church; cultists from the South South killed their own people. You know why there was no serious noise by CAN and you? You could not link it to President Buhari’s herdsmen or Fulani herdsmen. The same WIKE that did not drop a million to support the families of those bereaved in his constituency (State) went to Benue State to donate N20 Milliion and you hailed him Kidnapping of School children in Lagos; Badoo issue in Lagos; Crisis in Kaduna. Who did you call on? Ambode the Governor of Lagos and El-Rufai of Kaduna. When crisis happened in River State and Benue State, who did you shout about? President Buhari the herdsmen. What about your Bishops, Pastors and Imans that made Aso Rock their abode between 2010-2015? What did they negotiate for the body of Christ or common citizens? Yes, they got their jets; they got waivers and Universities all PERSONAL. Now that the tap to fuel their jets and lifestyles had stopped, all they tell you from the pulpit is “LIES and Prophelying“. Your anointed ones keep saying ANNOYING THINGS, yet you can’t query their lies? Wait, I remember again your problem with President Buhari fighting corruption selectively. So, mention ONE name among those in EFCC case without a case to defend. If your hero Presidents had fought corruption with one leg, by now shebi it is the second leg that President Buhari will be fighting. So what is your problem with the corrupt facing the music? Oh, how about blablablabla. If President Buhari did not catch them, somebody else will. But stop crying in defence of the corrupt being asked to face the music. If your uncle is corrupt, tell him to face it, and stop shouting how about other thieves. I know you lost your job because Ex- President Jonathan lost out and your job with Mama Patience was terminated. But stop using your personal loss as a yardstick for Buhari’s achievement. Under your hero, several young Nigerians were SCAMMED by Boro collecting money from them for Job, in the process killing many young Nigerians. Ex-President Jonathan cannot even sack him. So what do you want the families of those who died when Ex-President Jonathan scammed them of Jobs to do? Stop crying and face life. For your information, all those lies about “hidden agenda” can only fly on you because they know you are biblically illiterate. I even saw somebody hailing Femi-Fani Kayode for being the voice for the Church. Haaaaaa, abomination. Abeg make I stop, come dey collect your abuses in packs. Your plan B, C and D of ruinous economy, escalated insecurities and secession bids will fail and Nigeria shall rise again in the committee of great nations. Festus Keyamo SAN

Secession: Ngige Breaks Silence, Says Elite Causing Chaos In South East

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has finally broken his silence on the ongoing agitations in the South-East region of the country by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Ngige, who spoke at an emergency stakeholders meeting of the Association of Eze Ndigbo in the 19 Northern States and Abuja during the weekend, blamed propaganda made by some unnamed elite on several attacks on the five states in the region. The South-East region had been under attacks by gunmen suspected to be members of IPOB where a lot of lives have been lost and public property were vandalised. Speaking on the development at the meeting, which was convened to address the wanton killings and destruction, the minister wondered why such things could be happening if not the propaganda orchestrated by the elite. He maintained that President Buhari had shown friendship to Ndigbo for six years, adding that the South-East had gotten a fair share of what is due to the zone, especially infrastructure wise. “There is no maltreatment there. We are in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which is composed of a minister per state. “But we have one extra ministerial slot. So, the South East is effectively represented to ensure justice is done to our people. “We are there to talk when there is no justice,” he said. Ngige, who berated those criticising President Buhari that his appointments were lopsided, stated that the people should stop talking about it because they don’t know how government works, saying Igbos had enjoyed key positions in the past. According to him, “People can say that we are not honoured with appointments of Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Army Staff and Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF). These are positions we have enjoyed before in the Nigerian Federation. ”We had two Inspectors-General of Police (IGPs), Ogbonnaya Onovo and Mike Okiro. We had an SGF, Senator Pius Anyim. We had four Senate Presidents. Twice we produced Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker, Ike Ekweremadu and Emeka Ihedioha respectively. “They were in charge of federal budgets for eight years from 2007 to 2015. That is the rule in the National Assembly. “So, if you now talk about appointments, it becomes a matter of perception. I won’t blame them. Perception and reality are in the same line. “A lot of them don’t understand how government works. A lot of them don’t understand that I, as a member of FEC can influence things that will come to my State, my zone or any other area and where we think things should be sited or done in Nigeria. ”For me, those people perceiving that are ignorant. I don’t want to use the word mischievous. But much more importantly, propaganda against the government by the elite in the South-East should stop because it is that propaganda that provoked troubles that we are now noticing. ”People have been brainwashed and the separatists humped on that foundation to now shout from the rooftops that we will give you Biafra and when we give you Biafra, all these things will disappear. “There is no country that does not have its own problems. We have economic problems here and that is why we have unemployment and of course, we have a youth bulge in our population. “About 60 per cent of them are youths and a lot of them are unemployed. “So, the government is devising ways to tackle that. It is a work in progress.” The former Anambra State governor stressed that the Owerri-Aba and Owerri-Umuahia roads construction were ongoing, just like the international highway from Enugu to Abakiliki to Cameroun where the stretch from Enugu to Abakiliki is completed while the stretch from Abakiliki to Cameroon is ongoing. He added, “Enugu Airport used to be the worst airport in Nigeria. “We had three Aviation Ministers, Fidelia Njeze, Stella Odua and Osita Chidoka and they did nothing there. Buhari put N10 billion in Enugu Airport. He does not hate Ndigbo. “Then, the Second Niger Bridge is the biggest of them all. President Buhari took it up from a Private Public Partnership (PPP) Project by which tolls were to be collected. “By which foreign loan companies’ financiers were relieved of doing what they wanted to do to stay there forever and ever and it is now a legacy project out of the five that is being done in the whole country.”

POLICE PRESS RELEASE, LAGOS STATE COMMAND, DATED 11TH JUNE, 2021.

JUNE 12: LAGOS POLICE ASSURE RESIDENTS OF NORMAL COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES, ORDERLINESS Debunk Rumour of Sit-at-Home Order The Lagos State Police Command has assured residents of Lagos State of adequate security of lives and property and orderliness in the state on Saturday 12th June, 2021, as against the news making waves that the state will be shut down for the June 12 Democracy Day Celebration. The Command wishes to state categorically that normal commercial and social activities in the state stand on Saturday 12th June, 2021, as the Command is not aware of any planned protest neither is it aware of any curfew being imposed by the Lagos State Government to warrant any Sit-at-Home order to Lagos residents. The command therefore urges members of the public to disregard any rumoured sit-at-home order or lock down of markets and total paralysis of economic and social activities in the state on June 12. It is a mere mischievous rumour and calculated attempt to create fears in the minds of Lagosians and disrupt peaceful atmosphere in Lagos State. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, therefore appeals to members of the public to go about their lawful businesses as the police and other security agencies have made necessary arrangements to maintain law and order across the state on 12th June, 2021 and beyond. While the Commissioner of Police felicitates with Lagosians on the 2021June 12 Democracy Day, he however warns those who might want to hide under the Celebration or whatever disguise to foment troubles in the state, to steer clear of Lagos State as anyone caught engaging in any act capable of causing breakdown of law and order and jeopardising the security system of the state will be caused to face the full wrath of the law. E-SIGNED CSP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI (mnipr) POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER LAGOS STATE COMMAND IKEJA-LAGOS DATED 12TH JUNE, 2021

Avoid June 12 protests, US advises citizens in Nigeria by Eniola Akinkuotu

The United States Mission to Nigeria has advised its citizens in the country to avoid the June 12, 2021 protests which will take place on Saturday in several parts of the country. The US said this in an advisory on Friday titled, ‘Demonstration Alert: US Mission Nigeria (June 11, 2021) – Nationwide Protests on Democracy Day.’ It said it is likely that the protests will take place at the Unity Fountain, Abuja; and Lekki tollgate plaza and Gani Fawehinmi Park in Lagos. The embassy advised American citizens to keep a low profile and avoid the areas where the protests will hold. The advisory read in part, “Several groups have announced their intentions to protest nationwide on June 12, Democracy Day. Police presence and response can be expected nationwide, including in Abuja where government events are scheduled to celebrate the national holiday and in Lagos where simultaneous protests are planned. “The likely locations for the protests in Abuja will be at Unity Fountain (Hilton Hotel area), Wuse, Berger Roundabout, Aguiyi Ironsi Way, Airport Road, and British Circle. In Lagos, the likely locations for protests will be Lekki Toll Gate and Gani Fawehinmi Park. Calls for the protests suggest they may begin as early as 7am. “Actions to Take: Avoid the areas of the demonstrations. Exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests. Monitor local media for updates. Keep a low profile.” Several groups are expected to hold protests against maladministration, insecurity, the suspension of Twitter and other issues. However, some others like the #RevolutionNow led by Sahara Reporters Publisher, Omoyele Sowore, are expected to hold a rally tagged, ‘Buhari Must Go’ which some state governments have kicked against.

Amaechi: Obasanjo spent €400m on maritime equipment — but it all disappeared by Haleem Olatunji

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, says the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo spent between €300 million and €400 million on equipment for fighting insecurity in the maritime sector. The minister alleged that the equipment purchased is nowhere to be found. Amaechi said this at the inauguration of the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure in Nigeria (also called the Deep Blue Project) at the ENL Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos. The event which took place on Thursday was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari. Amaechi said Obasanjo spent up to €400 million on a similar project to fight insecurity in the maritime sector. But he claimed that the equipment “disappeared”. The minister accused the Nigerian elite operating in the sector of unpatriotic acts. The minister said a war was waged against him during the implementation of the project by stakeholders in the industry, but that he was determined to complete the task. “Just because of this project, three committees were set up against me; one led by the vice-president, one by the minister of defence and another by the EFCC,” he said. “While they were set up and all of them were cabinet committees; the accusation was this is Amaechi’s contract. Mr. President, I don’t do contract. “But I want to tell you why I did it. Nigerians are not patriotic, most elites are not. They were making billions of money in insecurity. Anybody who wants to fight insecurity, they will fight the person and I was very determined. “I am surprised that the MD of Shell read his speech without saying that the oil companies met and promised me a gift if I can survive in this war. This war has sacked two ministers, they were taken to the EFCC and they were sacked. “This war, under President Obasanjo; they spent between €300 million and €400 million to buy the same equipment we have bought and they have disappeared. “Until the day you sack me or I leave office, I will make sure that this equipment remain because Nigerians who do business on the water are not good people. Most unpatriotic Nigerians are not good.” In his address, Buhari expressed confidence in the project, saying it will boost maritime security infrastructure and improve law enforcement. Advertisement “I am confident that the project, which provides a robust maritime security architecture, will enhance maritime domain awareness capability and improve law enforcement action, particularly in the prosecution of suspects under the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act which I signed into law in June 2019,” he said. “This flag-off is an important step in the continuing shift in strategic action about regional maritime security. “It will serve as a benchmark for member states in the Gulf of Guinea and other relevant stakeholders to further develop innovative strategies and align efforts with the subsisting framework to improve maritime security in the region.”

NANS suspends June 12 protest, distances self from ‘Buhari-must-go’ campaign by Kayode Oyero

The National Association of Nigerian Students has suspended its planned June 12 nationwide protest, The PUNCH has learnt. NANS President, Sunday Asefon, made this known in a statement on Friday morning. It was titled, ‘NANS Suspends June 12 Protest Over Concerns About Safety Of Protesters And Fear Of Possible Hijack By Politicians – Comrade Sunday Asefon’. According to the NANS president, the planned protest was aimed at decrying the insecurity in the country, especially the serial abductions of students. However, Asefon said some politicians with “different agenda” have perfected plans to hijack the protest to “ventilate their political opinions and sentiments”. He also said the students’ body was not associated with the secessionist campaign or the ‘Buhari-must-go’ campaign slated to hold on Saturday by some politicians and activists. He said, “Having considered the current security realities and the danger to the lives of our members in case of possible hijack of the planned protest, I in consultation with all the structures of NANS, therefore, announce the suspension of our proposed protest for June 12. “The suspension of the protest is necessary to avoid a clash of interest and clash with security agencies that are on red alert to protect the nation’s infrastructure from security breaches on the proposed date as a result of many other protests slated for the date. “We intend to protest for better security and improved welfare for our students, we must therefore not put the life of any of our students at risk to ventilate our grievances.” Asefon further noted that the protest was not cancelled but postponed, adding that a new date would be announced for the demonstration.